Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember
by Fher34
Summary: Three years after war, and things have yet to settle. For Hyuuga Hinata, life has just begun. Lacking memory and speech, she learns to live again. For Uchiha Sasuke, well...he just didn't expect to find a Hyuuga woman invading his training grounds. Sasuhina postwar. One sided Naruhina on the blond's part. Chapter 5: Innocence.
1. Chapter 1: Porcelain Doll

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember_

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Chapter 1:

Porcelain Doll

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"Unwept tears on pale, white eyes,

A doll's heart that beats,

A crimson mouth that softly smiles.

.

Drops of salt down porcelain cheeks,

A pained heart that stops,

An ironic twist of bright red lips.

.

Silence is her daily silken dress and sadness her everlasting companion;

Thorns adorn the rose that makes her bleed,

The coppery fragrance lost in the autumn wind.

.

The words she can no longer speak...

Memories she doesn't dream...

Loved ones time forgot...

.

A life that was taken away,

And another toy that stops the cold rain,

A doll's hearts that beats again."

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The dark corridor narrowed down to the last of the cells of the high-security dungeon in the ANBU Department of Konoha.

Black shinobi sandals slapped against the cold cement-base floor, echoing directly to the dweller of the guarded room.

Heavy-lidded obsidian eyes turned to the sealed door, features sporting not the slightest of interest.

Green powerful Fuinjutsu runes glowed and the sound of the locks pulling back with a protesting hiss of air made Uchiha Sasuke turn back to stare at the bland ceiling he'd been watching for over two years and eleven months.

The cracks were memorized, the uneven values of white and gray labeled, and the measurements taken.

There was nothing new for him to find, and yet...he never failed to look at it time and time again, as if expecting something new.

There never was.

He did not feel disappointed, though.

As a matter of fact, he felt nothing and that was okay.

Lacking emotions wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. It was a stupid rumor. Numbness was something he would prefer over hatred any day. It was better not to know grief, or suppress remorse. Tasting guilt and impotence was the worse, a sickening tart that lasted for stretched periods of infinite time.

He would know.

"Oi, teme!" came the ever cheerful voice of Uzumaki Naruto, his always on time visitor.

Hm. So it was noon already...

"Dobe."

The blond-haired shinobi flopped down on the floor beside the one and only occupied bed in the locked security cell and placed his hands behind his head wearing a grin so big Sasuke wondered why it hadn't split his face in half already. "Aww, don't give me that! Aren't you happy you're getting released tomorrow?"

Sasuke said nothing, as usual, and thus began the one-sided daily conversation.

"It's the end of September now, and still the damn heat won't go away in the Fire Country. Though," blue eyes narrowed comically and he shivered. "The mornings are cooold."

Sasuke didn't comment that his room – cell – never ceased to be cold.

"I'm getting my own Genin team tomorrow, too!" he informed and his smile, if possible, widened. "Kiba and TenTen are also going to be senseis this year. I just hope I don't get any undisciplined brats." He frowned thoughtfully only to brighten up like he always did. "Shikamru thought it was a hassle when he first started, but he still trained his own Team. Right now, I think he has them warming up for the Chunnin Exams. Eh, that Shikamru thinks of everything. I mean, the Exams are still months away!"

And so on.

And so forth.

The dobe really didn't know when, or _how_, to shut up, but in a way, Sasuke welcomed his annoying ruckus every time he showed up. It was better than Kakashi's perverted jokes or Sakura's mournful and awkward silences.

Yeah, Naruto was good company.

Sometimes.

Though Sasuke had pride and dignity. The day he voiced his gratefulness aloud would be the day he died.

Meaning – in a single word –, _never_.

"Tomorrow is going to be a good day," Naruto sighed happily and closed his eyes, tilting his head back.

Sasuke sometimes thought that Naruto lied too much.

He seemed content, but he wasn't. There was a light frown between his eyebrows, his cerulean eyes were wore down with exhaustion, and his natural tan looked sickly beneath a layer of pale skin, provided by the lack of going out in the sun, though it was the end of summer.

"Naruto."

The blond snapped his head to the side to look at him instantly (it wasn't often that the teme used his first name), and there it was – pain, regret, sorrow before he could hide them behind his usual wall. All the emotions Sasuke wished not to know but lived with nonetheless.

The raven-haired ex-criminal didn't bother to hold the other man's gaze for long. Instead, he turned back to the unchanging ceiling and sighed to himself.

"Stop it. Stop acting like you're okay."

A fake smile. "What are you – "

"She's dead."

A sharp intake of breath.

"She's gone."

A heartbeat slowing down and clear eyes that lost their gleam, turning dull and flat.

"Wherever she is, she's not coming back," Sasuke finished.

He was blunt, but he faced reality as it came. He was no longer the young boy that ran freely through the Uchiha's compound. Not the little kid who wanted to surpass his older brother and gain his father's respect.

He was a man. He was twenty now. He knew when it was necessary to stop pretending.

"You are wrong," Naruto whispered lowly, his voice thick.

Black eyes glanced at darkened cobalt.

"No," Sasuke pronounced. "I am not."

"She's strong; there's no way she won't come back to m – to everyone," he hastily corrected his slip, but Sasuke knew what he meant.

_There's no way she won't come back to me._

"It's been years, Naruto. _Years_," he made sure to put an emphasis in the word.

"She will come back," his best friend, after all these years, counterattacked, an aura of strong determination encasing him. "She never gives up; it's part of our nindo."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something else but decided not to retort in the end. Naruto was stubborn, very, very stubborn, and the girl was a delicate matter to discuss with him.

It was best to leave the issue alone.

"Baa-chan said she reacted two days ago, when I was out on mission," Naruto confided quietly, sensing his friend's skepticism, his mouth tightened, his eyes downcast. "She'll be okay...one day."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in reply and shook his head. It really was no use to fight the idiot.

Before the blond could support his claims, the door opened and both males were surprised to see Nara Shikamaru standing at the door, his body shaking, his usually disinterested dark eyes wide open.

"Na-Naruto –"

By the time he caught his breath, the two men in the room were on their feet.

"Shikamaru, what's wrong?" Naruto quickly inquired for both of them.

"Hinata," was all he said, as if his breathless state and shaking form could be explained by uttering a single name.

To the ones present, it did.

Naruto went still, his eyes similar to the Nara's, his face pasty white.

"W-what?" he managed to choke out.

"She's awake," Shikamaru smiled and Naruto stayed still as a statue, his eyes reflecting everything he wanted to do but was too hit by the impression to accomplish.

Sasuke, the less affected by the news, pushed him to the door. When met with a questioning blue stare, he repeated the action, this time more roughly. "Go."

"Sasuke," Naruto gasped.

Sasuke made a face of extended disgust. "Don't look at me like that and leave, you moron," he snarled and shoved him again.

Momentarily out of his shock, the blond smiled and this time, it wasn't forced. "Thank you, teme."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. This was getting sappy way too fast, and he wasn't appreciating it. "Get the hell out."

That was all the encouragement Naruto needed. "Thanks!"

"Stupid dobe," the brunet murmured to himself when the Nara and the Uzumaki were gone, his door once again sealed closed.

With nothing else to do but throw himself in bed, Sasuke lifted the covers and made himself comfortable.

Hmph.

"Hyuuga Hinata," he tasted her name on his lips, liking the way the silent H's rolled smoothly on his tongue.

He smirked, closing his eyes.

What a strange girl. He could have sworn she would never survive, not after what happened to her.

But she was awake.

What a girl...

She was the young woman who was in love with the dobe.

The heiress of the prestigious and ancient Hyuuga clan.

The brunette with the peculiar indigo colored hair, the cousin of the deceased prodigy, Hyuuga Neji.

The kunoichi who risked everything just to save the life of the person she admired.

Hyuuga Hinata, the girl whom had spent the last two years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days in coma.

**.. .*. ..**

When the blond shinobi saw her next, the way she reacted was the last thing he expected.

She was sitting on the bed, on the one her father had bought specially for her stay in the Konoha hospital, staring blankly at her small hands, inspecting long fingernails that had grown yet again. They always kept on growing, no matter how many times Ino, Tenten or Sakura clipped them.

Due to the nutrients and vitamins she was receiving through artificial feeding, Ino had explained to him one day.

It had been years since he'd seen her awake. Since the war.

That era felt so far away.

His chest tightened at the sight she made and his heart skipped several beats without his permission.

Her long hair was casually thrown to the side, long tendrils of indigo curling at the tips and slightly mussed. Her eyes were drowsy and lazy with fatigue despite her long slumber, but they still shone like crystals flickering light, the lavender orbs marking her as a true Hyuuga darkened by the shadow casted on her by the closed curtains, contrasting in the other light at the other half of the room.

Her bangs were parted in the middle and noticeably longer than before, reaching down to her chin, exposing her forehead, something he had never seen before. They cupped her white-porcelain face, the same face that wielded high cheekbones and a button nose. Her ruby lips were like bloody rose petals against her paleness and her unbelievable long, black lashes brushed against her slightly flushed cheeks as she blinked and looked back at Kiba, who sat on the chair next to her bed, telling her some of his adventures with Akamaru and Shino. Stories and tales she had been oblivious to while lost in her own little world.

Naruto heard Kiba chide her mockingly for ignoring him and the girl flushed even more at getting caught.

That was Hinata, always blushing, forever shy.

Once the Inuzuka had her attention, she listened intently to every word that came out of his mouth, but her elegant brows were knitted in incomprehension, her nose wrinkled cutely as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing.

She was breathtaking.

Why hadn't he seen it before?

Ino and Kiba were right, hell, the _entire_ ninja world was on target; he was the biggest _idiot_.

The blond didn't think. He simply acted, as it was often his mistake. His unthoughtful actions had placed the petite, sweet girl who had loved him for the longest time sincerely on that bed, in coma, for years. It had been his fault, all of it.

He didn't care at this moment, though. The murderous guilt vanished and only she mattered. She was all he could see.

So caught up was he in what his eyes showed him that he forgot where he was and what had caused him to find this strange creature in a hospital attached to machines and fighting for her life until a few moments ago or however long she'd been awake.

He moved, and then she was in his arms, her gasp of surprise swallowed as the heart monitor bleeped loudly in protest.

He hugged her small frame close to his chest, feeling the softness of her body and the heat that strongly clung to her figure. The smell that was uniquely hers was addicting and he tucked her into his embrace, fearing that if he didn't touch her, didn't held her near him, he would choke in the alien and overwhelming emotion taking over him and then drown, – or worse, that she'd disappear and vanish like vapor in the sky and he'd never see her again.

"Hinata..." he whispered in despair and could do no more but hug her tight, his head lowered to the crook of her neck. His parted lips released an unstable breath that kissed the skin he suddenly wanted to trace with his mouth.

That's when he felt it, the feeble attempt of tiny hands trying to push their owner from his arms. The monitor attached to her started to go wild and the girl began to fight for air.

Naruto let go of her when the insane beep pierced the room like cannon-fire and Hinata was pale for lack of oxygen.

Had he hugged her that tight...?

"Hinata!" both boys in the room cried, Naruto in panic and Kiba in concern.

Kiba, who could've been one of the walls surrounding the room for all Naruto cared, got up from his seat so quickly the plastic chair crashed sharply to the floor.

The room's door banged open and Ino and another nurse appeared, pushing the boy's away from Hinata when she saw they were surrounding the brunette.

"Wait out in the hall!" Ino commanded, her hands already glowing green, her eyes hard and narrowed in concentration as the other nurse tried to placate the Hyuuga.

"But –" Naruto began but Ino's voice carried an iciness that left him rooted to the spot.

Kiba grabbed the blond by the arm and dragged him out, making sure to close the door after them.

"What did you do to her?" he demanded once they were in the hall.

Naruto blinked at the sudden accusation and he scowled. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Kiba's lips lifted into a snarl and he glowered at the blond in front of him before punching the wall beside him with his fist.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Naruto exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"You wouldn't understand, Naruto," Kiba growled, his forehead touching the abused wall.

At hearing his name without an insult, Naruto settled down and asked seriously, "Kiba, why did Hinata push me away?"

Kiba eyed him from the corner of his eye, mouth in a flat line of expressionless. He closed them after a second, and a muscle on his jaw jumped. "She doesn't know you...She doesn't know anyone."

Naruto wasn't sure if he was hearing right. "What are you –" His face filled with puzzlement. "What are you talking about!" he finally cried.

Kiba's fist colliding with his cheek was his answer.

"You idiot! It was _you_! It was your fault! She _loved_ you, she loved someone like _you_! And she paid for it," he snarled, trying to land a kick on the blond but Shikamaru and TenTen were already there, holding him back.

"It'd be better if you leave," Shino commented as he helped Naruto to his feet from the floor, where he had ended up after being knocked down.

Naruto said nothing, the blood running from his mouth forgotten as he stared numbly at the struggling brunet being dragged down the hall by a stern Shikamaru and a pained TenTen.

He was right.

Kiba was right.

It was his fault.

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**A/N: I've been wanting to make a one-sided NaruHina since forever. XD It's payback time, blondie.**

Yes. I will make my dear Naruto-kun suffer for a while. Yes, I sometimes think he doesn't deserve Hinata's love. Yes, you are free to flame me if you like but remember I didn't force you to read :(.

Review!

-SasuHina interaction in the next chapter. *Squeal! :D Oh yeah, babe!

-_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember_ is such a silly title. Do you guys have a better one?

-Rated T for a bit of lime in later chapters.

P.S: This story will be a very short one. I think 10 or 8 chapters? But I will make Sasuke's and Hinata's relationship realistic. It's just that I can't get this plot out of my head! So I apologize in advance to the readers of _Nightmares_. Chapter 9: Winter was published on Feb. 10. That story will be uploaded in two weeks (hopefully)! As for this one, if I get good feedback soon, then this weekend (since it's short).

-Published: 02.12.14.


	2. Chapter 2: Who Am I?

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

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Chapter 2:

Who Am I?

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Sasuke didn't expect him to come back so soon. Or, to be honest, he hadn't expected the assigned ANBU watching over him to let him through a second time.

A person, after all, could only visit him once a day.

When he saw his expression, however, he understood.

Naruto was...a mess.

He instantly knew something was wrong, and exactly who it involved.

He sat up and nonchalantly brushed his overgrown bangs away from his eyes. He wished he could trim them a bit, but he wasn't allowed to go near a simple kunai and there was no way in hell he was going to allow anyone close to his hair willingly.

Tch. He didn't need a weapon to kill a person, and had he wanted to leave, he would have done so already. He didn't say that aloud, of course, lest they chained him again, and he didn't like being kept in a leach, thank you very much.

The door closed but the blond shinobi didn't speak.

His bright locks were disheveled, as if he had passed his hands over it thousands of times in a short span of time. His blue eyes were still exhausted, but Sasuke noticed, they were also bloodshot, lifeless.

Sasuke chose not to speak, not wanting to break the silence that had settled before Naruto's entrance, and patiently waited for the whiskered Jinchuuriki to spit out what was on his mind.

By the looks of it, it was serious and to say that Sasuke was surprised would be a very badly constructed lie.

The last time the dobe had looked that...that _haunted_ had been half a year ago, when Hyuuga Hiashi doubted getting his heiress back and almost decided on disconnecting the life-support system keeping the Hyuuga in a stable condition.

Sasuke had never seen the blond so agitated until that day.

Naruto's knees gave under him and he slid from the door to the floor, candling his head in his hands.

"She fears me."

It was said softly, distantly low, and in complete disbelief, as if the dobe himself couldn't begin to grasp what he was saying.

The Uchiha frowned. She what?

Didn't that girl loved him? Why would she –

"She fears me, Sasuke," Naruto interrupted his thoughts and the brunet had to fight down the urge of slapping that glazed look off the dobe's face. He didn't remember seeing him so lost until now and it was making him feel uncomfortable.

Damn that over-sentimental idiot.

He was like a freaking little kid going home after pre-K only to find his entire toy collection destroyed into pieces.

"You should have seen her face," the blond continued in that same voice that was beginning to drive Sasuke nuts because it made him feel so helpless. "It was as if she had seen Death itself. I thought I had hugged her too tightly, but no...She doesn't know who I am, she doesn't know me anymore."

Sasuke remained quiet, letting Naruto get it out there and he cursed inwardly. Hell, he wasn't good at this crap.

"It was fear. She was so scared," he punched the floor with his fist, a crack quickly resounding in the small closed space.

Sasuke didn't even flinch.

And not for the first time in his life, the Uchiha watched his friend weep.

**.. .*. ..**

They said her name was Hyuuga Hinata.

The girl with the funny, chocolate-colored hair on top of her head with equally nut tinted eyes claimed she was a ninja, a kunoichi, an important member of something called the Hyuuga Clan.

The boy with bright marks on his face and pointy teeth said she was his baby sister, his best friend along with something – someone – called Shino and Akamaru. He said they were teammates, and that he was going to protect her.

She didn't know what he meant by that. Protect her? What did...what did that word mean? She wasn't entirely sure.

Her vocabulary had vanished along with everything else, but it was coming back at her again, if at a slowed pace. Her mind was a sparkling white canvas with no drawings, no base, no colors to speak of.

Oh, she understood half of what she heard...but not everything. Some words were lost, with no meaning.

Just like everyone else.

Who was that boy? Who was the girl with the funny but pretty hair and the big eyes beside him?

Not knowing was making her wet behind the eyes. It was a peculiar feeling, that of her eyes dripping with liquid. She had tasted it on her lips, and frowned at its flavor. Salt...salty water?

Her eyes had widened.

Salt water only resided in the ocean, she wasn't sure how she knew this information, information that wasn't exactly important, but she did and was she...Was she spilling the ocean?

But that thought had sounded silly, even to her own untrained mind.

The boy with the marks was named Kiba, after a fang, he had claimed.

"Kiba." The name was distant. It was there...but barely. A faint remembrance that gave her the impression of loudness, a canine, grass, and warmth.

The girl was TenTen and she said she was going to take care of her, because _he_ was no longer here to do it himself.

He?

Who was this he TenTen was talking about?

It couldn't be Kiba...because Kiba had backed her up on her promise fiercely and looked out of the window, whispering a name she never really heard.

They confused her but didn't elaborate any further.

Then in came an ever odder person. He was..._bright_.

Colors. Contrasting colors.

Orange and green, she found herself remembering slightly. And his eyes were a bit silly too. They were huge, and energetic, and full of something he called 'the flames of youth.'

Whatever that was, she wished to have it. Maybe those flames of youth that gifted him with never-ending energy could help her get up and start walking. She did not like staying in that mattress the female named Ino labeled as 'bed'.

Her body was too heavy to be lifted properly, however. She had already fallen countless of times before Ino with her endless platinum blond hair caught her and placed her back in bed after taking care of the 'bruises'.

Blotched, purple and greenish skin adorned her face from falling so many times. And her hands were red, the blood beneath showing slightly on the surface.

She had seen blood before in her mind. She knew blood.

So she panicked.

The girl known as Hinata panicked.

Blood.

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

She didn't remember anything from this world, from this strange, but open and warm, and welcome and odd and silly, and _sane_, world.

But she did remember blood.

Blood had been her water. It had been the only thing she had known for a very long time. It had surrounded her, drowned her, _claimed_ her.

Blood had destroyed her.

And, most importantly, she remembered crimson eyes, spinning eyes that watched her with hatred.

Hatred she tried to build and throw back, only to see the eyes fade away and shift to a crystalline violet with circles surrounding the black pupil.

Sharingan.

Rinnegan.

She knew what they were. She might not know anything else, but those names were engraved into her mind to the point of never forgetting, their titles ringing in her ears in an unending echo.

Those eyes haunted her.

They were evil. They had made her go through that world of corpses and blood.

It had been torture.

She had lost her mind.

Or...she thought she had. But she hadn't.

She didn't know how long she spend trapped in that dimension, did not care to know.

She was now away, far, far, _far_ away from it, and that was all it mattered.

She was safe.

Right?

And those memories were starting to go dark and sink into the background, erasing themselves completely from her mind's eye. They were leaving her, they were giving back her sanity.

She didn't understand why this was happening or how, but she was glad.

She was immensity glad.

But not happy; she still remembered fragments and those small pieces of untold imagination met no description.

So it wasn't a surprise when she entered a state of shock and fear so high she couldn't move.

Just seeing the dark, crimson blood restarted the same heavy feeling at the pit of her stomach.

The girl named Hinata ceased breathing, her heart almost stopped, her veins ran cold.

To her credit, she did not scream. She couldn't. Since waking up, her vocal cords had refused to work; they had failed her when she opened her eyes for the first time in a long period to the light pouring from a single window and into the hospital room. She had lost the ability to speak, it seemed. The power to form words had disappeared. She just couldn't bring herself to take control and speak up.

So she just sat, watching the red, thick, hot liquid oozing slowly down her small, pale palm with the utmost horror.

"...okay, Hinata? If you leave this bed again, I swear I'll –" Ino stopped her monologue when she noticed the girl go rigid, her pale lavender eyes – eyes she had missed seeing and prayed for everyday until today to open –, staring fearfully at her scraped hand. "Hinata?" the blonde medic nin asked hesitantly.

But Hinata was unresponsive.

A small wimped escaped her lips after a moment and fat tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"Hinata-chan?" Ino prompted again, her inquiry turning to worry when she saw her eyes fixing solidly on the small gashes on her palm. "Hey, hey," she quickly tried to console and grabbed her small wrists into her own hands, hastily wiping away the red liquid with clean cotton-balls and proceed to heal them with her chakra. But the smaller girl was still centered on her own world. "Hinata," the blonde shook her and finally lifted her chin to make the brunette face her.

"It's okay," she whispered, cupping her cheeks. "_You_ are okay. Do you understand me? It's over. You're awake now; you won't have to go back there." Wherever 'there' was. Ino wasn't an expert in genjutsu or any other techniques except for her own, but she was aware that living in a dream – or most likely, _hell_ – for years without stopping could cause damage to the mind. It was anybody's guess how far the damage went, but judging by her lack or memory and speech, it had been bad enough.

She heard the door open and Shino entered quietly. "I hope you don't mind if I stay," he commented when he caught Ino's light blue eyes on him.

Ino sighed, released Hinata, and waved a dismissing hand in his direction, telling him without words that it was fine. "Take care of her, could you? I need to make my rounds."

Shino gave her a nod in return and Ino ruffled the girl's longer hair affectionately.

"I'll see you later, okay, Hinata?" The girl simply gazed at her, her pale cheeks reddened by her tears, her eyes puffy. Ino turned to Shino. "Talk to her about yourself, please. Tell her about your life, about how she fits into it. Let her know who you are, what you are to her, and past experiences. Tsunade-sama wants to see how much she doesn't remember," she said.

"Understood, Yamanaka-san."

Ino's serious demeanor crumbled and she creased her nose. "Stop calling me that, idiot," she slapped him playfully with her clipboard on the top of his head, rising on her tiptoes to accomplish the task. The boy had grown into a very tall man in his late teens and though Ino was nothing close to short, she still had to struggle to go past his chin. "We've been spending time together for the last two years, don't 'Yamanaka-san' me."

Shino ignored the sensation of having his cheeks burn to bits and coughed awkwardly, thankful for his high-collar, which was hiding his unwanted blush because...Aburames did not blush. It was simply ludicrous. "Very well, Ino-san."

Ino sighed again, placing her fists on her hips. "You're hopeless. Would it kill you to drop the 'san'?" she muttered as she left, but not without first hitting him again, this time on the right shoulder.

Shino cleared his throat and turned to look at Hinata, ready to start talking. He wasn't a very communicative individual, but not having her around like it was custom had left him with many things to say, accumulated over the years.

He had expected to find her as Ino had seen her last, in tears, but to his chagrin, the small girl was looking at him with what he thought was interest. Gone were her tears and her gaze darting from the closed door to him, her head titled to the side, her lips slightly parted. It was as if a light had gone off and her mouth formed an awed 'o' and she sent him a small, – dare he say it – knowing smile.

"It's not what you're thinking," he blurted out.

Hinata's eyebrows lifted slightly and Shino got the impression she thought he was lying. Well, as much as he hated to disappoint her, he was not.

Maybe.

He had missed her too much to disregard whatever she was thinking, so instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and began, "My name is Aburame Shino, from the Aburame Clan,..."

Hinata watched him while he talked, her lips twitching with effort at lifting them. The muscles there were strained from misused, but she didn't mind. The ache there reminded her that she could feel, and that she was now in the outer world, that she could smile.

As she heard him explain who Yuhi Kurenai was, she couldn't help but wonder where these feelings of familiarity and warmth came from.

**.. .*. ..**

Months.

It had been months.

Two, to be exact.

And he was back on routine.

Nothing ever changed.

His ninja career was far from over, but he was to stay away from missions. Hell, he wasn't even in the active shinobi roster, and this bothered him.

His skills were rusting, damn it, and he hadn't run away from this village to Orochimaru for power for it to go to waste.

No way. He had lost too much to gain it in the first place; he wasn't going to let it go.

So he trained privately.

No one ever told him he couldn't, so he guessed bending the rules wouldn't affect him much. After a week of being under constant supervision and with no one trying to stop him from getting away with what he wanted, he made a place for himself in the Konoha forest, a place in particular.

It was secluded, away from the townspeople and other shinobi. Completing with his sentence after a fair trial and helping save the shinobi world in the 4th Shinobi War didn't equal positive popularity with the citizens of Konoha, and in the first month of his release, he had ignored the dirty looks and whispered words of 'traitor' and 'ninja filth' and 'Uchiha scum', but they were starting to get to him, which made that land just for him, and since no signs of human life or claim were found, he decided to automatically call it his.

Naruto was now too busy with studying law – Sasuke had snorted at the news – in his Hokage training and being a sensei to hang around the Uchiha's place now, but for the first few weeks, he had helped out in making sure Sasuke had all he needed.

It had been irritating, having the dobe play the role of a mother hen, but what could Sasuke do to stop him? Beat him to a pulp, of course...But that was forbidden. He couldn't attack the future Hokage without reason.

Apparently, making Naruto stop pestering him was not reason enough.

Sasuke honestly didn't see the problem, but Tsunade did. What a hypocrite. Sasuke could bet all of his money on the fact that the blonde more often than not sent the dobe flying on a trip across Konoha from her office window when annoyed.

Hence, that left Sasuke on his own.

His former Team Taka visited him constantly though, Juugo and Karin being the most constant. Suigetsu liked to roam and had decided recklessly not to ally with any of the hidden villages. But when he did visit...he always came in a bottle of wine.

He thought it was funny when fooling the guards and merchants and he enjoyed the entire trip from wherever he started it drunk.

Sasuke could simply sigh at his idiocy. His antics hadn't changed in the least.

The Kiri ex-ninja would never use his liquefied brain for something proper, it appeared.

After training, Sasukee stayed inside his house or sat outside his porch until curfew.

That was something he specially loathed.

Curfew.

Hmph.

One Saturday morning, he anticipated spending the day just like any other – training until he collapsed with fatigue or someone came over to his house (Juugo, Karin, or Naruto most likely). He did not expect feeling a small chakra on his training grounds.

He came to a stop, black eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Who dared to step into his domain?

He was undeniably annoyed and with a grunt, kept on walking, ready to kick out whoever had invaded his territory.

What he really did not thought he would ever see was a girl sitting quietly, looking down at something in front of her.

A girl? The hell?

Her dark hair was pulled to the side by a silver comb, the rest of it free and over her shoulder, her white kimono crisp and reaching down a little past her knees, but not by much; her black shinobi sandals were off and placed beside her as she remained ignorant of him, still looking down at something ahead of her.

She better not be one of those weird females, he thought bitterly. He may be a traitor, but he was a 'handsome' and a 'hot' one at that, and he attracted the opposite sex like flies to honey.

"Who are you." He didn't bother in hiding his presence so his brow rose when the girl jumped in the air and instantly moaned in pain.

Now Sasuke was confused. Was she by chance...hurt?

She better not be. Otherwise it was going to be him getting the worst part of it. He was a warrior, and if there was something wrong with her, well, hell, he was not a freaking medic nin.

"I said," he repeated, louder this time, "who are you."

The girl's small shoulders tensed but she didn't answer and refused to turn around.

Confusion was swiftly replaced with irritation. "Are you deaf or perhaps mute?" he finally spat. "I asked you a question and I expect an answer in return."

Hearing her gulp did not make him feel guilty of causing fear. He did that with everyone in the village without doing anything at all. What was one more to the list?

Once again, no response.

Scowling deeply, he moved towards her so fast she didn't stand a chance.

The next thing she knew, he was standing in front of her, ready to get her out of a place he called his own but only to come to a sudden halt, the words dying in his mouth.

Big, lily colored eyes stared back at him, shock evident in their depths.

"Hyuuga?" he asked, shocked himself.

The girl's eyes opened a fraction more, and she stumbled back, hissing in pain as her right ankle shifted. She quickly took hold of it gently, and glanced up at him, insecurity obvious in her face.

Sasuke had to blink once to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

What the...Wasn't she under extreme custody by the Hyuuga Clan? How had she ended up here, of all places? It was too far away from the Hokage Tower. Wasn't she weakened after spending so much time in bed, her muscles stiff and aching with misuse? How had she made it this far out?

Sasuke wasn't a gossiper, but he knew very well who this little woman in front of him was and her condition.

She didn't remember anyone, and she was out of the ninja commission in to current date. She was no longer an active kunoichi, just as he wasn't an active ninja, and she was mute.

No wonder she hadn't answered him. The girl, although able to reproduce sound, did not speak. Some aftereffect of trauma, he had heard.

Tch, having her called 'mute' just a minute ago so bluntly was making him feel regretful of judging her so fast.

"You're hurt." It was more of a statement than anything else, but the girl gave her confirmation, a tense line forming on her lips as she grazed at her swollen ankle. "You can't move either."

The girl winced at his flatness.

"And, if I'm informed correctly – which I am – you are not to be left alone. Where is your escort?" he demanded as he eyed her sprained bone.

He was no medic, true, but he knew a sprained ankle when he saw one.

He didn't miss the way her eyes darted to the side and her hands began to fidget.

Having an idea of what she was so NOT hiding, the Uchiha sat on his heels, fixing her with a stern look.

"Did you sneak out?"

Widened Hyuuga eyes looked at him in surprise, giving herself away.

He almost smirked. This girl was so easy to read, never mind that she couldn't talk.

"No permission, eh, Hyuuga? Aren't you a bad girl," he drawled.

The brunette blushed, her doe-like eyes screaming 'I'm innocent!'

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, honestly curious.

The petite girl showed him the herbs gathered in a big plastic bag labeled with a name he didn't care to read.

"You were looking for this?" He received a nod. "Why?"

The Hyuuga blinked owlishly at him and then pressed her palms together, leaving the bag on her lap, and began rubbing them, applying a nonexistence formula on her swollen ankle as if to mimic putting on some kind of salve.

Yes. Sasuke didn't care as long as she got out of his training grounds. Now, how was he going to accomplish that with her unable to move?

Ugh. Where the hell was that dobe when you actually needed him?

Stuffing his face with ramen?

Sasuke hoped not. He could sometimes swear the idiot had more broth than blood running through his veins.

His first instinct was to take her home. That way he wouldn't have to bother with her anymore. He wasn't as heartless as people made him out to be, and if the dobe ever found out he so much as considered the idea of leaving the Hyuuga, the girl that he was now apparently in love with, there, in a lonely forest, all by herself when she couldn't walk, Sasuke would never see the end of it.

So take her home it was.

Finding that plan the most logical (it was the only one he had, truthfully), he got up and slid her sandals in her direction.

"Put the one you can on," he ordered and picked the other one himself, surprised at how tiny her feet were.

_Yeah. This girl won't be the tallest in the bunch._

The Hyuuga did as she was told but not without first shooting him a questioning look.

"I'm taking you to your family," he told her to ease her anxiety.

She visibly relaxed and he didn't waste any time in raising her to her feet without applying pressure on her injured ankle and throwing her on his back unceremoniously, not caring if her kimono got wrinkled. Her fault, not his. He didn't know why on the name of her ancestors she would wear a freaking expensive-looking _white_ kimono in the woods.

Psh. Arrogant Hyuuga showing their wealth.

Idiots.

The girl gasped, quickly balancing herself by holding on to his frame as he placed his hands under her bare thighs.

Damn kimono. Why did it have to be this short? Couldn't it have been the longer version with the sleeves?

Once she was in place, he started to walk, shifting the girl's weight on his back so he could walk without difficulty. It wasn't as he thought her heavy, quite the contrary, really. And that was the problem. She was too light. He felt as if he didn't carry her correctly, he would forget all about her and end up dropping her.

The last thing he needed was one pissed off Hyuuga Head trying to put him in jail for dropping his little Hyuuga princess.

_Not gonna happen._

Though his plan was a good one, it had flaws.

The first one consisted of how to get her there without going through the center of town and the second one...where on earth was 'there'?

He had no idea where the hell she resided.

He almost face-palmed at his stupidity.

"Hey, you," he called out to her.

Once he felt he had her undivided attention, he proceeded.

"Do you know your way home?"

No answer.

Sasuke bit back a sigh. "Tap one for yes, two for no."

Two taps on his shoulder let him know that she was as equally clueless as he was.

Sasuke inwardly cursed. "Figures..."

So with no other choice, a grumpy Uchiha Sasuke headed to his 'abominable abode', murmuring incoherent words that were music to a masked ANBU Sai's ears, the latter smiling creepily in amusement as he followed while an oblivious Hinata simply shrugged and rested her chin on the side of his neck the way she did when Kiba or Lee decided to carry her home. This wasn't her first time in this position with a male. She had been carried around since she woke up in that plain room in the hospital, both by women and men. Although it did bother her she didn't know this guy...but he knew her, somehow, and he was taking her home to Papa, so it was alright.

Sasuke almost jumped out of his skin when he sensed her getting in a better position, her hands loosing slightly around his broad shoulders, her...cough, cough, _gifted_ bosom pressing against his back.

Okay...this was getting a bit awkward.

"Comfortable?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye.

The girl gave him a contented "Mhm!", completely missing his sarcasm.

Sasuke shook his head but resisted rolling his eyes.

The dobe really owned him this time.

**.**

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A/N:

Short, but I'm busy this week :( Hope you enjoyed it though :D )

Thank you for being my first reviewers!: **Meech Macko, Narutoimagine01, narutodoesntdese, Neko-chan, 921350, Kia-B, Ro0w'z, umnia, Guest, auroroa0914, Deedeecrazy8, Love-MM, Encuentrame, YukiTenVianey, jecka-hime22, tastetherainbow17, and Pressing Point**! Thanks guys :D I can't believe you liked this story o.o but oh my, I've never gotten so many reviews for the 1st chapter.

Publsihed 2.16.14


	3. Chapter 3: Taka

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember_

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Chapter 3: Taka

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Sasuke wasn't a whinny individual, had never been, and not once had stopped to contemplate in becoming.

It wasn't in an Uchiha to complain.

If he was in trouble, he got out of it, no words uttered no matter what he faced. If he was cursed by irritating villagers who obviously wanted him to rip their tongues out, he walked by without so much as a sparing glance. When he was tired, sweaty, and enduring throbbing muscles, his lips never betrayed him with words of dissatisfaction. The uncountable times he was put into endless interrogation sessions with Morino Ibiki after returning to his place of birth, no protest exited from his being.

That just didn't happen.

It was the way his world worked, and anything aside from that was foreign.

There were times, however, in which he really wanted to shout some colorful words and throw everything out of the window (metaphorically speaking, of course, though the idea of doing that to the dobe didn't sound too bad), forget about the cause of the previous over-expressed actions and just continue living as if nothing had ever occurred.

Easier said than done.

"Hmm-hm-hm." The gentle noise coming from the girl he was carrying eased him out of his inner self and his features schooled themselves into a deep scowl.

Whether it was annoyance or indignation he was feeling (he was still unsure), the way she was acting, as if they were both childhood friends from some unknown era and not fresh strangers, bothered him.

She continued to hum the gentle melody, oblivious to his conflicted state of mind, one set of fingers tapping rhythmically against his back as her other hand kept itself busy by drawing sets of imaginary circles over his shoulder blades, her head lolling from one side to the other, incredibly long indigo locks swaying with her movements.

All in all, she was the epitome of contentment, dwelling in her own little paradise containing rainbows and unicorns.

Sasuke couldn't believe it.

This was..._unusual_. No one touched him willingly anymore, damn it. He didn't allow anyone to make contact if he could help it, and what was he doing right now?

Letting some weird petite girl hang on his back as he presented himself as a freaking human board extraordinaire to fancy her every whim, of course.

Maybe he was exaggerating and the girl had simply grown bored and found a way to amuse herself as he made his way to the Uchiha District (or what was left of it).

Maybe so, but that didn't mean he had to like her strange, almost childish in nature, ministrations. Because he didn't.

Really.

Her fingers were small, like the rest of her, her large eyes a common exception among her Clan. Tiny digits breezed over his shirt and warmed his skin underneath the thin material, sending currents of electricity as she drew circle after circle, sometimes converting them to spirals.

He stupidly wondered if she possessed the Lightning Element.

She didn't look like the type.

Huh.

Shaking his head inwardly, he picked up his pace and disregarded the girl's soft, almost melancholic melodies as he approached the Uchiha territory.

The deities only knew where she had gotten that tune from. It sounded a bit familiar and it reminded him of something...something from long ago, if the fog in his memory served him in any way.

He didn't care to find out, though. There was no point.

A journey that would normally take him a few minutes to travel had taken him more than an hour to cover. It consisted of less than four miles of distance that wouldn't have been a problem, but with the girl injured...He couldn't risk upsetting her ankle, lest he ended up breaking it off or something. With his luck, the possibilities of something bad happening to her while having him in charge were rather high.

For the first time in his life, he wished the location of his house closer.

As a child, he never paid attention to the fact that the Uchiha District was sited away from the other clans, desolated, and neighborless.

He had awakened in the hospital after the occurrence that destroyed his younger years and turned him into a more mature, aloof, and cold person. He had no time to focus on mundane details that didn't require his utmost attention.

Now that he was back and living where the Second Hokage forced his ancestors settle, he was highly aware of just how empty his surroundings were.

Yes, he had the forest on either side, but that was it. There was no one for approximately seven miles radius.

The observation had flared his anger before he pushed it down.

His people, his clan member, forced to live in exile in their own village. It was like spiting on the Uchiha name, and he was powerless to stop such an humilation.

It just wasn't worth it. It was the past; he couldn't change that and... that killed him every time.

The Pain attack several years ago had damaged the place and several houses. Ironically enough, because the Uchiha Clan had resided outside Konohan walls, the destruction was minimum, saving pretty much more than two thirds of the buildings that weren't yet in decay.

Behind him, the girl's humming came to a stop, and he felt her head lift from its place on the comfortable side of his neck, her long hair following her motions. Didn't she know what scissors were? Why wasn't her family cutting it all off? He could have sworn her hair weighed more than the rest of her.

A questioning sound came from her throat and Sasuke had to open his mouth to explain.

"This is the Uchiha District." Short and to the point. It was enough in his opinion.

Besides, she didn't need any information about it, seeing as she wouldn't stay long.

He would have to call Karin via one of his summons to heal that ankle of hers and then send the Hyuuga on her way home...Well, send Karin _and_ her to the Hyuuga state. Sasuke may be reckless but he wasn't stupid; her clan wouldn't take well to the traitor walking her home, even in good terms.

He sensed the Hyuuga's curiosity spike but kept quiet.

She grabbed his shoulders for support, her dainty fingers gripped the back of his head to lift herself higher as she scanned the area, pale eyes wide with wonder, scrutinizing wooden houses, abandoned stores, electricity posts that were no longer serving with a system of electricity, and finally settling on the Uchiha's fans spread throughout the place.

A tick mark came to be born on the Uchiha's temple as the Hyuuga, in her excitement to see more, tugged at his ebony strands and irritated his scalp.

_What. The. Hell ?_

If she felt the fires from an inferno emitting out of Sasuke, the Hyuuga promptly disregarded them as the heat coming from the sun's rays.

As they walked through the desolated District, Sasuke's charcoal eyes narrowed as he realized that it wasn't as empty as he thought it was.

It didn't take him long to reach his house and less to take notice of two figures standing a few years away from him.

A microscopic twitch of his mouth akin to a smile graced his lips and he tried not to turn them into a grimace as the Hyuuga on his back unconsciously took more of his hair into her fists.

Hmph. Guess he wouldn't need to use his summons anymore.

**.. .*. ..**

Mid-length flaming hair held in a low ponytail shifted to the side as Karin cocked her head in surprise.

She had felt their chakras moving, and feeling something..._odd_, in one of them, had come with Juugo to see what Sasuke was up to (among other reasons).

She knew that he reserved most of his day for training, something that even she found silly. There was no reason for Sasuke to train. They were living in times of peace and he was one of the strongest ninjas and the only Uchiha in the possession of the powerful Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan; one glance from those eyes and you were dead. All in all, Sasuke didn't need to polish his skills any longer.

The female Uzumaki fixed her purple rimmed glasses, her old brown ones long ago destroyed in times of war, and fought the urge to blink at the scene in front of her.

Was that...?

Was that Sasuke-kun _piggy-ridding _a girl...?

Juugo seemed to follow the same trail of thought for he spoke.

"Is that...Sasuke?" he asked doubtfully, as if he didn't believe what his eyes showed him. His hold on a bottle containing a suspicious liquid loosened to the point that he almost drop it. He sounded bewildered and Karin had to mutely agree, her mouth multifunctional as she tried to process what she was seeing.

The sight of one powerful Uchiha Sasuke in his sleeveless v-neck black shirt and training shinobi pants and sandals almost made her blush and squeal inwardly, but adding a pair of womanly thighs being hold by those powerful hands just didn't add up to the equation.

Sasuke never carried anyone – _anyone_, and that included teammates. Seeing him walk on their direction so casually but with an undeniable grimace – a grimace of ...pain! – was just something you didn't see everyday.

Karin's red eyes flickered to the source of the Uchiha's discomfort to find pale hands, buried deeply in raven-colored locks. A head of indigo hair, almost black with purplish highlights in the sun, rose above the Uchiha's, big eyes opened to the extreme in an attempt to take everything she observed in one go.

She seemed unaware of her and Juugo's presence, and Karin could see her tightening handful of dark hair between her fingers as her gaze lingered in the Uchiha Memorial in front of Sasuke's house.

The unmistakable twitch in Sasuke's eye announced irritation and Karin simply stared, not knowing how to react.

Just what was going on here?

First, she senses Sasuke's chakra close to another source with a unique, almost unnatural energy and sick with worry, she comes to see what's happening...and this was it?

She didn't know what to think.

"Juugo. Karin." Sasuke's voice snapped her to attention and she straightened, closing her hanging mouth.

"Sa-sasuke-kun," she babbled.

"Sasuke..." Juugo began, looking at his charge, whom had shrank into herself the minute the rest of Team Taka spoke. "Who is that?"

"Her name is Hyuuga Hinata." At the mention of her name, the girl on his back went still.

Recognition was obvious on their faces.

"You mean the Hyuuga heiress? The one in coma?" Karin inquired, trying to catch a glimpse of the well-known woman unsuccessfully.

Her curiosity had turned to wariness the second her and Sasuke weren't longer alone, it seemed.

"Hn," Sasuke answered.

"Why is she here?" Juugo wondered, his brows arched upwards. "I thought the Hyuuga were always watching her."

"I found her in my training grounds. She's hurt." He turned to the female of the team and Karin didn't need instructions to know what she had to do next.

She took notice of her shoeless foot and nodded thoughtfully.

"I can fix that."

**.. .*. ..**

Getting into the house was no problem, making the Hyuuga let go of Sasuke's hair was another matter altogether.

"Hinata-san," Karin tried to soothe her by talking to her sweetly but she wasn't known for her amounts of endless patience and it came forced instead.

"Karin," Sasuke hissed as the Hyuuga on him didn't let go of him but pulled at his locks. "Whatever you're trying isn't working."

What had initially started as a way to keep herself in a sitting position had turned into a form of protection. The Hyuuga was scared of being on unfamiliar ground, it didn't take a genius to figure that one out, but did she really had to tug at his scalp?

She looked helplessly at Juugo, who had left the glass bottle somewhere around the house and had opted for becoming a tree branch for several species of birds.

Sasuke tried to ignore his surroundings and concentrate in literally un-gluing the Hyuuga from his head, but it was hard when she was so close and...she moved, and along with her, her attributes.

Sasuke was no pervert, but he was a man, and a man, or any person really, was bound to find this sort of position more than awkward.

"Juugo, help me out! Try to get some of those animals to help! I'm sure she'll like to hold one." She turned to the hidden figure of the Hyuuga. "Won't you, Hinata-san?"

There was no response (obviously) and Sasuke had to grit his teeth in exasperation.

This was getting ridiculous.

Karin sighed and threw her hands at the sky as if to ask for divine guidance. "She doesn't listen to me, what am I supposed to do?! I need her to bite my wrist so I can heal that foot of hers, but does she look like she wants to be healed, now does she?! She doesn't look–"

"Karin," Sasuke growled, cutting her off.

Juugo watched his teammates sympathetically. "Why...don't we introduce ourselves?" he suggested.

Karin blinked behind her glasses. "Gah, whatever. We got nothing to lose."

How about my breath? Sasuke thought but didn't voice it.

Sighing and squaring her shoulders, Karin placed her fists on her hips and cleared her throat. "I'm Karin, Hinata-san, and the man over there that looks like a freak of nature with the hundreds of birds perched over his shoulders is Juugo and the bottle– the bottle we – Argh!This is stupid!" she exclaimed. "I feel like I'm talking gibberish!"

Juugo frowned lightly and Sasuke scowled.

They weren't helping him at all.

"Hyuuga." His smooth, velvety voice didn't have any effect on her. "Hyuuga, let _go_."

Nothing happened.

"Hyuuga," he said in warning and he had to swallow a groan of pain when the woman jumped at the coldness of his voice and pulled more of his hair into her hands.

Unbelievable.

Juugo walked and crouched at Sasuke's eye leavel. Sasuke simply glared at nothing and everything.

"Hinata-san," Juugo spoke calmly, gently, and warmly, almost caressing her name, a very sharp contrast with the Uchiha's grumpy attempts. "Would you please let go of Sasuke? We promise not to hurt you. Karin only wants to help you heal. You do want to feel better, don't you?"

A moment's pause and then a small nod.

Juugo smiled, although she couldn't see him and continued. "My name is Juugo."

The dark-haired woman hesitated, slightly poked an eye from the mess that was now Sasuke's porcupine hair, and deliberately let go of it at hearing Juugo's soothing words.

Sasuke, meanwhile, almost groaned with relief.

Juugo didn't spare him a glance and said to the Hyuuga, smiling "Hello."

She simply waved shyly at him in return.

"Will you allow Karin to heal you?"

She looked at him warily.

"It won't hurt you. You will only bite her, and you'll recover from any wound. Is that alright?"

She nodded, still unsure, pale eyes searching Juugo's own. He offered her a small smile and motioned fro Karin to take over.

Sasuke moved from the couch as well, leaving the Byakugan user sitting there as Karin took the heel of her foot in one of her hands.

A distant crash and glass breaking made her jump in uneasiness but Karin's roll of eyes, Sasuke's shake of head, and Juugo's sigh told her that nothing was out of order.

It took longer to convince the Hyuuga into biting Karin's arm, but at the end, Juugo and Karin persuaded her enough.

Not used to the magical works of Karin's ability, Hinata wriggled her toes and moved her ankle back and forth, her eyes the size of softballs.

She was healed...just by biting a person...

"Done!" Karin declared. "As good as new, eh?"

"Bah! I would have done better."

Sasuke didn't need to turn around to see the person standing on the doorway.

He had a good idea of who that was.

Karin pulled the sleeve of her chunnin uniform and scoffed. "As if!"

"With my love, everything is possible. You understimate me, Karin, and that has always been your mistake."

"Hmph. Idiot," Karin murmured under her breath and turned around to say something else back, only for her to choke on her own saliva.

Behind her stood Suigetsu in all his naked, smirking glory.

"Hi there, little princess," he said simply, his purple eyes set on Hinata before shifting to Sasuke momentarily. "Hey there, Sasuke! Long time not seen!"

There was a suspended silence in which Juugo frowned in worry at what was to come and Sasuke's Sharingan activated on its own accord.

"SUIGETSU!" the shrill feminine cry pierced the stillness and Hinata's ears and she winced, covering them with her hands.

The Hyuuga was confused. What was happening? Why was the red-haired woman covering her eyes and yelling?

A part of her began to then shut down, and she wondered why her face felt so hot when she looked over at a white-haired stranger walking nonchalantly through the room, that is, until he was received with a kick to the face, courtesy of one enraged red-haired healer.

The guy was not wearing clothes. What was wrong with that?

He was completely bare. Unlike the rest.

Wait...

Not...wearing...clothes?

Her eyes widened at this and she would have yelped, but it was too late.

Her mind had finally caught up – at least sort of – with what she was seeing.

And for the first time since her awakening in the Konoha Hospital, Hyuuga Hinata fainted.

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**A/N:** Ahh, so different from Nightmares and Free Ravens, don't you agree?

Thank you: **tastetherainbow17, Guest, Kia-B, Pressing Point, Narutoimagine01, 921350, aurora0914, Meech Macko, mac2, Neko-chan lover, ErzaCastielScarlet, exotao, umnia, ImCutePoison, Encuentrame, YukiTenVianey Team, Smartlooks, saddestsigh, remiedy, tactics2012, Darth-Taisha, Kibachow, WateryInk, RikuDai, MirukoUchiha, A sunny place for Sasuke, XxJasmineReyxX, rainbowxpersonality, PuppetPrince, & NaruHina1! **

-Yeah. Sasuke's not easily 'rusted' but in this fic, he thinks he is. He's bored with nothing to do. He's over-thinking.

-I keep my Sasukes straight in an I-Don't-Know kind of way. He just comes to me differently depending on the circumstances.

-You asked for more chapters. Well, that's up to you. You want more chapters, keep reviewing and supporting the story!

-Hinata's inability to speak is a side effect of trauma (as I explained earlier in Chapter 2).

-Also, please review. A lot of invisible readers come, follow, and leave. It's kinda sad :c.

-P.S: My excuse for being late? Homework. Homework is a vicious thing, everyone, a very, very evil concept. I beg thee, despise it with all thine dark little heart. It might just disappear and stop haunting me.

P.P.S: Follow me on Tumbrl! I go by the name of Fher43 (see how the # is reversed?). I will either let you know if I suddenly go AWOL or if I'm being chased by some rabid chihuahuas down my street or busy with nightmarish semester projects or something.

-And, what do you think will happen next in the story?

-**Chapter 4: Confrontations** will be out tomorrow...if you review, of course. The more the merrier!

-March.26.14.


	4. Chapter 4: Confrontations

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

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Chapter 4:

Confrontations

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The Sharingan was a very powerful dojutsu and among its many techniques, it had the ability to follow fast motions and tune them down to point of their essence .

This was no surprise to those familiar with the cursed crimson eyes, and it was no new concept to a skilled Sasuke.

He saw the Hyuuga's obvious puzzlement at Suigetsu's..._lack_ of dress, and watched the slow procession of final meaning gaining in her fluorescent blush with a hint of amusement. Amusement, should it be added, that fled the second he witnessed her eyes go immeasurably wide and roll to the back of her head.

It took him a quarter of a second to realize where those symptoms were going, and when he did, he was beside her before Suigetsu could transform into water and slip away from a red-faced Karin.

Later, he would thank whatever being watching over him (if such thing existed) that she was already on his couch. Otherwise, going back to the Interrogation and Torture Unit for a pleasant (not) visit for having being found with a Hyuuga's broken skull splatted all across his clean floors would have had to be ensued by the ANBU in charge of watching over him.

He was sure Ibiki would welcome him with open arms.

Sasuke made a face as he tried to fix the limp female body in his arms.

"Hyuuga," he shook her, but she was dead to the world. He tsked in irritation.

Juugo, the only sane person at the moment that wasn't chasing or being chased, decided to add his two cents and point out what Sasuke had already worked out in his mind. "She fainted." There was a sliver of disbelief in his words. "No one has ever fainted around Suigetsu..." he added as an afterthought.

Sasuke responded by grunting and placing the Hyuuga in a position that wouldn't break her neck, struggling with the length of her hair as he did.

It was noon, and already, as he heard Karin scream some obscenities and Suigetsu laugh like a lunatic, he knew it was going to be a long day.

So much for routine.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Hyuuga Hinata had never fainted in her life.

At least, she didn't know she had.

To her awareness, losing consciousness so abruptly was a whole new experience, and it was...unpleasant.

Light eyes fluttered open, fighting against the light coming from...somewhere.

Huh? This didn't look like her house...or room...or anywhere she knew, really.

Big violet eyes slowly but surely peered at her from a curtain of white hair, shining creepily with intent, and she gasped in surprise. Her first instinct was to back away, and she acted on it.

Bad idea.

A squeak of pain abandoned her lips as she hit the ground, having rolled down the couch she had, until seconds before, been lying on.

Sharp teeth formed a shark-like smile and Hinata was suddenly feeling rather conscious.

"Hey!" he said to her, grinning from ear to ear, still hovering above her head.

She simply gaped at him, too scared to do anything else. His mouth looked...too pointy and sharp for safe comfort. No one, not even Kiba-kun, had teeth that menacing.

The white-haired man with light blue-tips lost his grin and blinked down at her, then glanced at her from head to toe. "Did I break you?" he wondered and closed the distance between their faces. There was no room to hide and no space to be used. Hinata was really in a very tight situation, no pun intended.

The man blinked again and narrowed his eyes searchingly. "Meeeh," he drawled. "I think I did break her," he muttered to himself, only for something else to catch his attention. "Woah, you have a nice rack there," he smirked stupidly, his eyes roaming two very nice-looking breasts.

Hinata gave no answer but his comment made her cheeks burn.

_SMACK_!

"..."

...and there he went again, flying across the room like a rag doll.

Hinata inwardly winced and swallowed, warily turning to face the source responsible for sending Pointy Teeth crashing against the closest wall.

Toned legs in knee-length shorts were the first things she saw, and a dull green colored vest, like the one Lee-kun and Kiba-kun wore, followed. Hair the color of flames tied in a ponytail seemed to raise like burning embers and a fist was being shaken as she hollered, "That's what you get, you idiot! Let the girl breathe, you are suffocating her!"

She then looked at the Hyuuga, still sprawled at her feet. "What are you staying down for?! Get up, fix your kimono!" Fire (as Hinata had coded her) ordered and contradicted her words by doing everything she said herself without waiting for Hinata to respond.

Before she even knew it, she was sitting upright, her kimono neatly pressed by Fire's efficient hands, not knowing what to do but sit there.

Where was Stranger? Where had he gone? Her gaze looked everywhere, but there was no sign of his dark eyes and tall stature.

However, his presence wasn't really primordial. At least, not at this second because a gigantic blade, like she had never seen before, came in a clean swig, missing her by a hair, aimed at Fire.

"Arck!" she yelped and got out of the way just in time. Her crimson eyes opened at the extreme. "Are you trying to kill me, you good for nothing bastard?!"

Pointy Teeth hoisted his sworn on his shoulder and grinned, completely happy and unharmed by her previous blow. "That was the plan, Karin," he admitted, bashful.

She huffed and stalked out of the living room area, her head held high.

"He-he-he," Suigetsu chuckled madly. When he shifted his attention from Karin's retreating back, he took notice of the Hyuuga's awed expression.

He followed her line of sight and grinned like a kid alone in a firecracker warehouse, looking back at her with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Do you want to try it?" he asked mischievously, as if taunting, waving his weapon in the air for effect.

His smile could have split his face when she nodded.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Karin dried her hands on a clean handkerchief and entered the living room again.

She had been helping Juugo (or trying to) set lunch, but the nature man had declined and asked small favors like "pass me that". "check that pot" and "set the table" but nothing more.

Hmph! It wasn't her fault she had been banned from kitchen classes when she forgot to turn off the stove five months ago during a lesson. Really, the old lady in charge, whatever her name was, had exaggerated, saying she had almost burn her entire classroom.

Ha!

Karin hadn't burn her classroom...just part of it. Nothing that couldn't be fixed.

What she encountered in the living room almost made her trip and land on her face.

"His name is Kubikiribocho," Suigetsu was explaining virigously, looking rather proud of himself, as the Hyuuga girl, Hinata-san, nodded her head hastily in understatement.

They were both sitting across from each other, the after-mentioned weapon resting on his lap, his hand caressing the sharp blade adoringly. Hinata-san's legs were folded underneath her, a pose worthy of a Hyuuga, and Suigetsu's...let's not go there.

"And it is one of the legendary swords of the Village Hidden in the Mist," he proceed worshipingly and winked at her. "Are you getting all this? I heard that you don't remember a lot of things in your life. I hope you know the history of the Shinibi World, otherwise...I'll have to teach you. But that doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

A shake of her head, no.

Suigetsu sniffed pathetically. "You appreciate me!" he cried dramatically and would have pulled her in a hug if not for the sword laying on his lap.

Juugo, wearing an apron (an item only he dared to use) and holding a wooden spoon in one hand, a furry brown-colored squirrel on his shoulder, poked his head from the kitchen's doorway, his mouth open to tell everyone lunch was ready only for his words to die on his mouth before they had the chance to be formed.

His eyebrows lifted and he walked to stand beside the red-haired woman, staring at the scene of Suigetsu trying to make Hinata-san take a good hold on Kubikiribocho, the sword two times her height.

"What is he doing?" he asked to no one in particular, watching as the small girl wobbled from one side to the other with Suigetsu maintaining the balance.

Karin, however, chose to answer, waving a hand, detracting importance. "The idiot has gone beyond crazy. He's – according to him – teaching Hinata-san kenjutsu."

Hinata was trying. Really, she was, but it was so hard..and the sword so heavy. She had never carried something so burdensome and she wondered how long it had taken Pointy Teeth Sensei to get used to the weight. But the prospect of learning a techniques with weapons, like TenTen-chan's, was exciting. She had to do her very best and then try to tell Papa about it! He would be so happy if he knew!

She was so focused she missed the way ash-colored eyes observed her struggling from above the house's second floor.

Sasuke's lips twitched to the side in a gesture of hilarity and he suppressed the smile fighting to blossom, but it was difficult and a smirk forced an appearance.

He had never seen something so...he had no words to express what he was thinking.

Just imagine. A Hyuuga, in his home, playing ninja.

She was unusual...but then again, she had been in love with the dobe, so of course she had to be weird.

Weird to the core, that is.

He had known this by the way Naruto talked of her character when she popped into the conversation back in his prison days, in which the blond's voice became a daily occurrence.

Although, he had to admit to himself, he hadn't expect this level of innocence...Maybe the way she didn't know of her past existence had erased the hardened shinobi exterior.

Hn. A valid theory.

As entertaining as the show playing in front of him was, he had to stop the two before they destroyed his living room.

He knew very well Suigetsu could, and he wasn't about to spend money on buying new furnishing when he could prevent said furnishing from being destroyed in the first place.

He descended the stairs without hurrying, not like he needed to. Everyone was focused on the Hyuuga and Suigetsu.

Hinata, feeling a pressure that didn't come from Suigetsu's hands stabilazing her or the weapon in her grip, looked up to meet with dark eyes.

Oh. It was Stranger.

But there was something different about him...

She shrugged mentally. Huh. Maybe it was the way he was dressed. His black shirt was gone, replaced by a blue high collar cotton one that made his hair and pale skin stand out.

He reached the last step and tilted his chin as the others began to take notice of him. Turning his back on them all, he headed for the eating are and pronounce a simple, "Let's eat," that made everyone follow him.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Hinata wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do.

Sure, she couldn't turn down a meal; that would be rude. Even she knew that. Her Papa and nee-chan had taken care of her manners. They had educated her until she knew what a Hyuuga did and didn't do while being a guest.

And so far...she was doing a poor job of executing those teachings.

She had pulled her host's hair...fainted...and practiced around with a very, very big sword.

She had never heard of her Papa instructing her in that kind of behavior and now that she was mostly aware of it, she felt a bit ashamed.

She couldn't mess up this meal! She had to give a good impression.

Suigetsu sat at her right, talking about something she hadn't heard, and Karin on her left. On Pointy Teeth Sensei's left, Big Man ate with prolonged bites and in-between Big Man and Fire, sat her host, Stranger.

She hadn't seen him eat anything...but he was holding his chopsticks, and his food was slowly disappearing from his plate...

Hmm. Stranger was a very curious person, she thought idly, staring at him. He had helped when he didn't have any reason to, and had brough her to this place. She wondered where she was...not that she was complaining. Stranger had been the cause of her meeting Pointy Teeth Sensei, Fire, and Big man.

They were funny...scary, but funny. Not to add aggressive...and loud...and with a very filthy vocabulary that she was sure Papa would want to clean with a bar of soap.

They were unusual.

But so was him.

He was quiet, and reserved, it seemed...He was different from the other.

But there was also something interesting about him...

Suddenly, dark eyes met her own and she almost chocked on the bit of chicken on her mouth at being found out.

His face turned away as she tried to gulp the entire piece of meat down and her eyes burned with effort but she was able to still see...a smile or a smirk (?) on his mouth before he took a sip of his tea and it was gone.

Yes, Stranger was a very odd individual.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Karin stiffened for a moment, the rim of her cup touching her glossed lips.

Sasuke's eyes flashed to hers and watched her frown slightly in concentration.

A moment later, he felt it too.

Something was nearing his compound, fast.

The red-headed woman nodded subtly and Sasuke grunted quietly.

Great. More people to deal with.

He got up from his seat and all eyes turned in his direction. Without an explanation, he headed for the main entrance of the house and didn't have to wait long for them to show up.

The setting sun, announcing the approach of twilight, glowed a fiery orange, its light washing over three figure heading his way.

A woman with tan skin and slender but hardened build wearing a dark blue sleeveless Chinese styled top was the first person he saw. To her left, a man covered from head to toe in the uniform for those in the Unit of Interrogation and Torture followed, dark glasses obscuring his eyes.

An Aburame.

Obsidian orbs shifted to the most noticeable and wild-looking of the three.

Black shinobi pants against powerful legs and a jonin vest with a long-sleeved mesh shirt finished the look. An Inuzuka, by the marks on his face and his untamed brown hair.

No dog?

Huh.

"You!" the Inuzuka called and Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, the picture of cool aloofness in the flesh.

"This is Uchiha territory. You have no business here," Sasuke told them, looking at each of them in the eyes, allowing the reddish hue of his Sharingan to menacingly glow to let them know he wasn't taking their presence well.

"We're sorry to bother you, Sasuke-san," the kunoichi spoke and took a step forward, her arms crossed behind her back. Her posture showed vulnerability, as if telling him in return that she had come with no intention to fight.

He continued to glare as she explained herself.

"But we have come for a good reason. We're looking for Hyuuga Hinata, and we have concluded that she has been recently here," was what she announced.

Of course. Why else would they come near this place, he thought bitterly.

"I know she's here, TenTen," the brown-haired Inuzuka member said, not looking at her, for his eyes had settled on Sasuke from the very beginning. "She's here. I smell her."

Sasuke stared back, not giving anything away. Even his posture spoke of neutrality.

"Uchiha-san," the Aburame greeted with a tip of his head. "We have reasons to believe Hinata is here. Would you care to inform us if you've seen her?"

Finally. At least one of them went straight to the grain.

"She is here," Sasuke admitted, taking the disgust out of his voice as he eyed them all. They dared to enter his territory, the 'haunted' part of Konoha, just for one woman.

He knew she was important to many, but he never thought they would come sniffing around his District.

"You better not have hurt her," the Inuzuka growled.

The bun-wearing ninja slapped the back of his head and hissed a, "Shut it! Let Shino take care of this," at him.

Sasuke easily pretended they didn't exist and kept his gaze on the Aburame.

"Can you tell us how she traveled this far?" was the next question.

Feeling more and more like this was an interrogation for the I&T department, Sasuke answered, "I found her on my training grounds. She twisted her ankle. I didn't know where she lived. I brought her here."

The more information he gave them, the quicker they would leave, the better off he'd be.

"She _what_?!"

"Is she okay?" asked the brunette, her brown eyes darkening with distress.

"She was healed by a medical ninja." _Now get the hell out of my territory. _

"Ino-san?" the brunette asked in surprise. To her knowledge, Ino was on mission and outside the village.

His mask of indifference scrunched up in displeasure, and the mere gesture was enough of an answer.

"Sakura-san?"

His face soured even more.

"No."

A moment's pause in which no one moved, trying to figure out what kind of medical ninja would dare to go near the Uchiha beside the Yamanaka and Haruno and then –

"Hinata!" the Inuzuka stepped into his house, pushing past him without permission.

Hn. And here he thought Inuzukas were all about respecting one's territory.

Sasuke had to physically restrain himself from reaching for the missing katana at his hip. He was still in probation, one tiny mistake here, and he'd be exiled. Tsunade had been playing no game when she told him that bit of information.

The Aburame, as if to test his quantity of patience and self-control, stepped after his teammate with a muttered, "Excuse me."

The girl with chestnut hair – TenTen, was it? – winced at her friends' boldness. She hesitantly faced the glowering Uchiha and laughed weakly. "He-he, sorry about that. They don't know what they're doing."

This did not appeased the Uchiha man.

TenTen sighed in utter defeat and her shoulders lumped but hastened to add,"They're just worried, that's all."

The _please, please, don't kill us_ went unsaid, but loudly implied.

Sasuke promptly ignored her and turned back to his living room, his brows furrowed in an unwelcome frown, leaving TenTen to decided whether or not it was a good idea to step into the wolf's den knowing that the wolf and its allies dwelt inside.

Seeing no other option, she gulped thickly but discreetly and soon followed.

"Who are you?" Kiba was snarling at Suigetsu as Sasuke entered the kitchen, an accusatory finger pointing at the ex-Kiri ninja.

Team Taka had stood in response of the incoming party, all of them in relaxed, yet ready poses in case trouble aroused.

Suigetsu's smile became psychotic and he placed one arm around the Hyuuga's shoulders,the only one who remained sitting, pressing his body sideways to hers. "Why, I'm her new friend."

If he was looking for an immediate response, he got it.

"Friend? _You_?" Kiba almost blanched, looking physically ill at the sound of such a dreading idea but quickly regained his composure. "Get your filthy hands off her!"

The oblivious Hyuuga simply cocked her head to the side, chopsticks still suspended half-way to her lips, watching with owlishly big eyes the ping pong match she had had the misfortune to be in the middle of.

"Oh?" Suigetsu said innocently, and tightened his hold, a grinning cheek now firmly pressed to the Hyuuga's face. "Did you say something? I couldn't hear you since I'm too busy with someone, you see, and you are too unworthy of my attention."

Heat like no other began to take over her features and Suigetsu smirked, rubbing his face to hers at a torturing snail pace as the Inuzuka burned inside.

"Ahh, you meant _this_, right, Triangle Boy?" the sharp-teethed shinobi asked smugly.

"I said not to touch her!"

"Awww, come on. She's _so_ soft. Don't you want to share her?" Violet eyes lit up mockingly with hope, ignoring the death glare he was being given by the rest of the shinobi present.

"Suigetsu," Karin barked, pushing her glasses up with her left hand. "Let go of the girl already. You're getting your nauseous germs all over her."

Suigetsu pouted and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly at her in distaste. "Beh, shut up, carrot woman. You weren't invited into this conversation."

"What did you just call me?!" she cried, her eating utilities, still within the grip of her right fingers, snapping sharply in half.

Sasuke's eyes caught the silver glint reflecting over the kitchen knives at the corner of the room and he had to keep still despite wanting to use those very, very sharp blades and get all of those freaks out of his house. True, he didn't need weapons, but that didn't stop the increasing temptation to use them.

Silence had always been a lovely thing and he had always cherished it, and now he was in need of a very heavy dose of it.

Juugo placed a calming hand on the Uzumaki's shoulder in an attempt to stop the fight between the two, and looked at Suigetsu, amber eyes stern. "You heard Karin, Suigetsu. Just let Hinata-san go; you're flustering her."

"I am?" Suigetsu wondered out loud in dishonest surprise and inched back to see the Hyuuga's hot-pink face with scrutinizing eyes. "Oh, would you look at that!" he exclaimed proudly. "She's so adorable I could kiss her senseless right now!"

That was the last straw.

"Get. _Away_. From. Her," Kiba bit out, ready to lunch himself across the kitchen table, the food Juugo had worked so hard to set up be damned.

"You said to keep my hands off her, Triangle Boy," Suigetsu corrected him petulantly.

"I said to keep your filthy paws off her! It's the same thing!"

"You said haaaaands," Suigetsu insisted with an air of infinite wisdom around him, looking at Kiba from under his nose with the expression of someone who had just crushed a nasty thing under his shoe.

Sasuke suppressed a groan of annoyance.

Suigetsu was really trying to reach the end of the Inuzuka's patience. If he had that at all in the first place.

"I won't say it again," Kiba bared his teeth, his dark eyes menacing. This only made Suigetsu's Cheshire smile stretch to its maximum.

He finally released the Hyuuga and began to reach for the giant sworn resting on the corner."Bring it on, Triangle Boy," was what came out of his mouth. "I'll show the princess that I'm a better ninja that you'll ever be."

Before Suigetsu could swing his sword, regardless of the small space, and Kiba act upon the challenge – a challenge that might have been complied if not for the Aburame, who restrained the other male member in Team Kurenai with his bugs,– Sasuke was there, holding Suigetsu's wrists, locking them together, while having his other hand inside the comfort of his pant's pocket in nonchalance.

"Enough," his dry voice commanded, his bloody Sharingan absent, though there was no need to activate it at all. The small wave of killer intent he gave off was received by both fear and immediate caution.

Everyone knew (except one small Hyuuga), that you just didn't mess with the last of the Uchiha.

"Get yourself under control, Kiba. We are invading Uchiha-san's home. Show some respect."

"You too, Shino?!" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief as he tried to get rid of the insects crawling all over his skin. "Whose side are you on? Call your bugs off!"

Sasuke almost expected the window over the sink to break and for the Inuzuka's gigantic white dog to come to his master's aid and bare his teeth at Suigetsu as well.

The window remained perfectly unbroken and Sasuke eyed the argument in front of him with an expression of unfathomable boredom.

_Idiots_.

Not bothering to warn the kenjutsu specialist for he knew he didn't have to, Sasuke loosened his grip on the water nin and acted as if nothing had ever happened.

Suigetsu, now free, raised both of his palms in sign of peace and shrugged. "Whatever."

"Let us be on our way, Kiba. Our purpose for coming here has been accomplished. We will wait for Hinata _outside_," the Aburame concluded and grabbed the glowering brunet from the back of his jacket to drag him out.

"Hey!" he protested. "I'm not done here!"

Shino's glasses gave off a morbid shine. "_Kiba_."

"What?! I told you – "

"Shut up."

The rest of the Inuzuka's protests met with deaf ears.

TenTen witnessed the entire episode with a cringed face and warily gave the Uchiha a sheepish, very forced smile that quivered at the corners. "S-sorry about that, Sasuke-san."

"Hn."

Seeing that the raven-haired man wouldn't give her more of an answer, she added, looking at Hinata, "I'll be outside, too, Hinata-chan! Say goodbye, okay?"

The pale-eyed girl blinked but then nodded enthusiastically, giving TenTen, of all the things, a smirk.

The bun-wearing kunoichi snickered in return so uncannily alike it made Sasuke wonder if she had corrupted the apparently innocent Hyuuga. There was no way the Hyuuga Hinata everyone knew would smirk, and certainly not that mischievously.

With a last wave at Sasuke and company, TenTen exited the house, shutting the door politely as she went.

Sasuke closed his eyes and released a silent sigh he hoped no one had noticed.

His day had turned upside down just by helping one small woman.

That'd teach him not to go around the woods picking strange females. Not that he'd done it before, but one could never be sure.

When he opened them, she was standing in front of him, a shy smile occupying the smug gesture she had worn not a moment before.

He had to admit, as much as he disliked smiles, hers fit her face quite nicely. Her pale eyes, tinted with soft violet, brightened up like crystals catching light, and became immensity alive. He had always believed that Hyuuga eyes' main look was that of death for the lack of pigments, but here she was, a member of said clan, proving his believes wrong.

"Well?" he inquired after a few seconds of silence, a brow slightly lifted quizzically. "Be on your way."

The Hyuuga's eyes drifted to her feet, and she bit her lip in obvious nervousness.

Sasuke fought down the urge of slapping his forehead in aggravation and instead forced a calm and deadly soft, "What now, Hyuuga?"

He wasn't expecting an answer – why hold his breath when he knew she couldn't speak verbally – but a sign would've been helpful.

Suigetsu watched on, his lips pulled back in a savage but amused smile as he observed his once upon-a-time leader struggling for patience.

Aw, wasn't this sweet? He guffawed to himself.

Karin eyed the woman in white with curiosity and something more in her bright crimson eyes. "I think...," she voiced hesitantly. "I think she wants to thank you."

"Hm!" the Hyuuga's smile grew, as if to agree.

_So that's what she wanted. _

On second thought, it made sense. She looked like the kind of person to have manners – well, the episode of her clinging to dear life to his hair, of all things, aside.

The girl was about to bend at the waist and give Sasuke a bow.

He knew it by the way she pressed her hands, palm down, to the side of her thighs and one of her knees dipped lower than the other.

He was always quick to notice, and instead of staying where he was, arms crossed, he stopped her with a single word, "Don't."

He didn't want her gratitude, because that's what her gesture meant; it spoke of gratefulness. Thanking him felt wrong.

He didn't need a 'thank you' to live. He couldn't have very well let her hang in the woods with a swollen ankle and unable to speak, as much as he complained about it in his mind.

"It's not necessary," he continued.

Opal eyes with light violet blinked at him but she didn't bow, and that's all Sasuke wanted.

He thought she was going to turn away and leave.

She was healed; she could walk. Her friends had tracked her down; they were now waiting outside for her to be escorted home. She was leaving and he would never see her again.

Their lives had never crossed, and he had reasons to believe that she would be on her way never to be seen again.

He really did.

But the Hyuuga wasn't going to just depart without surprising him.

And surprise him she did.

She lifted herself on her tiptoes, and kissed him.

It was a brush of lips – supple and full and soft and warm lips – connecting with his cheek, a whisper of many more to come, but a kiss nonetheless.

And Uchiha Sasuke, former Avenger and the last of the Uchihas, feared by the elite of Konoha and the Shinobi Nations, didn't – couldn't – move a muscle.

He froze on the spot, black obsidian eyes two-thirds wide, and cheeks subtly alight with a suspicious shade of red, all of those signs gone unnoticed by the rest of Taka as the innocent child residing in the body of a woman danced – because there was no other word for it – directly to Suigetsu, then Juugo, and lastly, Karin, repeating the same gesture to all of them.

Sasuke missed the way Suigetsu winked at her, erupting giggles from the small Hyuuga.

He missed the way Juugo smiled stupidly with a bright, almost prideful flush on his tanned face.

He missed the way a stunned Karin opened and closed her mouth, speechless as she cupped her kissed cheek.

Sasuke could only stare and miss all of their reactions because suddenly, everything that made his world consisted of the strange sensation of lightning prickling gently at his cheek.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**XXXX**

A/N: Originally, this was the other half of Chapter 3 but I had too much work to finish the last few scenes and I didn't want to rush it. I really wanted this to come out good enough for you all.

I had so much fun writing this XD. As you may have noticed, I'm building relationships here ^_^. Friendship this, yadda, yadda, you know the stuff.

**Thank you: Darth-Taisha, tactics2012, umnia, xHinataLovex, remiedy, YukiTenVianey Team, God Of Twilight, Elephantsneedwater, Guest #1, 2, 3, XxJasmineReyxX, NaruHina1, Ro0w'z, ayaki chi, aurora0914, A sunny place for Sasuke, Delicatelyplaced, mac2, Deedeecrazy8, rainbowxpersonality, PuppetPrince, Kia-B, & Narutoimagine01!**

-And yeah, we MIGHT see Naruto...soon. Or not. LOL. That's for you to find out in the future and for me to write.

-March.31.14


	5. Chapter 5: Innocence

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

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Chapter 5:

Innocence

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Hinata was confused.

True, it wasn't the first time she found herself in that puzzling position. As a matter of fact, two months after her awakening, she still found life to be a gigantic puzzle with many of its pieces missing. Patience had then be extremely required (lest she burst into tears of pure frustration,) and with it, understatement of several things. She had gotten used to the reality of not knowing every aspect of daily life as a normal person, and she had accepted it, because what else was there for her to do?

However, that didn't mean the state of unending perplexity didn't bother her.

No. Among the very few things she didn't appreciate one bit (sour-flavored medicine holding the number one spot in her list), the idea of being left off the hook made her fume silently to herself like a petulant child deprived of delicious sweets in a candy store.

It just wasn't fair...She also wanted to know what was going on!

Hence, her predicament to current date.

Hyuuga pale eyes watched as Kiba-kun walked from one side to the other in complete anger, yelling words she couldn't hear, but if the look of disgust and outrage on his sharp features had anything to say, his outburst couldn't be at all gracious.

The action of him excavating a rectangular-shaped hole on the grass he was presently stomping on was rather interesting, though. Hinata had witnessed him do a lot of peculiar things, but never anything like this. Her eyes steered to his feet and up his face in silent thoughtfulness.

She wondered how long it would take him to bury himself down...and how long it would take for him to reach the other side of the world. Would he fall out into the black abyss of the night known as 'space' if he did reach the opposite end of the planet?

Those were some of the questions that popped into her mind as she sat on the park's bench, her hands folded neatly the way she had been taught by Hanabi-imoto, her back rod-straight.

Another inquiry that seemed to float in her mindscape revolved around the likes of 'why is Kiba-kun so angry?' and 'what is he saying?'

Kiba-kun was by nature 'wild' or so Tsume-sama had said when she went over to bake cupcakes last week at the Inuzuka Compound.

Indeed, the fervor in which he waved his arms this way and that was the very definition of 'wild'.

He was talking so quickly his lips didn't seem to touch at all, and spit was beginning to fly from the direction of his mouth.

She really wanted to know what he was saying. Whatever it was that he was arguing with TenTen-chan, it must have been intense.

Maybe...

There was no way to know, really; TenTen-chan's hands on both sides of her head were effectively muffling anything not meant for her innocent ears.

She mentally pouted.

Again, no fair...

Meanwhile, TenTen was too busy scowling in disapproval to take notice of Hinata's discontentment.

Listening to Kiba's rants had become the norm since day one, there was no going around it, but he was really making TenTen run out of patience.

It was a feat, that of making TenTen impatient.

She had dealt with Lee and Gai-sensei, and most of the time, those two crazed shinobis had been _together_. The combination of Lee plus Gai-sensei was a dangerous one to see; TenTen had mental scars to prove it. She had managed to come out of those situations alive (albeit barely) and was now a proud survivor with tons of patience.

But Kiba...Oh, Kiba was really doing it. He was really starting to make her want to sew his mouth shut with ninja wire.

"She could have been killed! Those monsters could have eaten her alive!" He kicked a bystander pebble whose only mistake was to exist out of his way. "Argh, she was supposed to stay home until we returned! So much for leaving her in a compound full of all-seeing eyes! Hyuugas think they are so high and mighty and claim to be invincible when it comes to pretty much everything, security included! Bah! Invincible my –"

"Kiba," Shino said in light admonishment from beside TenTen and behind the bench Hinata was occupying. "Stop that."

But once again, Kiba was deaf to Shino's subtle warnings. "They can't even do what they are told to! My Team and I were only gone for five hours! Five! 'Take care of Hinata-sama', yeah, right! They lie, they _lie_! They say 'Sure, man, go ahead, go to that boring mission that won't be worth your time with those Genin brats of yours, we will take care of Hinata-sama for you'!"

TenTen almost dared to interrupt and tell him a Hyuuga would never say something of the sort and much less using such poor vocabulary but bit her tongue and held herself back. It was better for Kiba to let it all out now.

Well, no. That wasn't right; it was better for _her, Shino, _and_ Hinata_ to let _him_ let it all out.

Having to hear a broken record of complaints wasn't much fun to begin with, and having to hear it throughout what remained of the day was just a big and fat no-no.

Especially when an innocent person was within their midst. The girl might not understand everything, but TenTen would be damned if she allowed Hinata to hear Kiba's coarse language!

Neji-kun would surely castrate the Inuzuka if he knew.

A pang of pain pierced her chest, reopening the old wound that hadn't healed since her teammate's departure to the afterlife. The brunette fought to keep her face in that sternness and disapproval, but it was hard. Already, her mouth felt dehydrated and her throat tight.

_Don't you worry, Neji,_ she thought. _I'll take good care of Hina-chan for you. She'll be okay. That's a promise._

She glanced down at the oblivious girl. Even now, she didn't know of her deceased brother.

Hokage Tsunade had told them that it would take some time, but that it was better for Hinata to remember things on her own – if she managed to remember at all. No one knew if her memories had being wiped clean or if there was a block stopping them from coming. The only way they would get some answers was through time.

TenTen hated time. She disliked to wait with her heart pounding loudly inside her chest in apprehension.

She sometimes wondered how Hinata would react at the news of her dead niisan, or the achieves in her old life. TenTen didn't know, nor could she predict.

This was a different part of Hinata no one had ever really seen.

This Hinata kept her shy persona, but she was bolder in a childish way. She was curious, and she followed that curiosity everywhere, no matter where it led her to. She was like a kid in her early stage of development; wondering and endearing.

Neji would have loved her, the way everyone did, but what scared TenTen the most wasn't Neji's or anyone's approval of what Hinata had become. No, she feared that if Hinata kept this soft attitude, this childish self, the moment she knew of the harsh reality of her shinobi career, she would break.

She never had the chance to mourn her brother, never had the time to say good-bye or even leave the battlefield.

Hinata had made a lethal sacrifice and paid for it with three years of her life. By all means, she was supposed to be gone.

But she was breathing, she was warm, she was full of vitality, although everyone close to her had thought otherwise during her prolonged comatose state.

And that comforted TenTen, the fact that Hinata was here and healthy. She had a part of Neji with her still, and she had gained a beautiful sister in the process. Before, they had been friends, now, her bond with the bluenette had strengthened.

"Just how the hell did she managed to escape everybody's notice, anyway?" Kiba asked dumbfounded, scratching his cheek. Apparently, he had finish rambling like an unstoppable parrot.

His question made her blink, and she realized she had dwelt in her thoughts longer than expected. She blinked again until Kiba's meaning sank in.

Then she smirked proudly.

"Our girl is smart," she said smugly, letting her hands fall from the Hyuuga's ears and patted the crown of her head affectionately, missing the way Hinata's face lit at the gesture. "She's learning well. Those lessons she's been receiving from us are finally paying off."

Shino nodded in agreement. "Her physical endurance and stamina are getting better," he commented. "Although her chakra reserves could use some work."

"And her vocabulary is also expanding," TenTen voiced like a mother gushing about her prodigious child.

Kiba paused in thought for a moment and then his eyes narrowed, brightening with a new scheme. "Vocabulary..." He hesitated for split of second and then reached for the pouch at his hip, taking out an old package of flashcards bent at diverse angles and, if Tenten was seeing right, stained with tea.

Her brows furrowed in full of disbelief. "You...still use those?" she asked slowly.

The cards were old news to everyone present, Hinata included. Kiba had used them to teach her the name of things and what they looked like during her stay at the hospital. After their purpose was served, the cards were gladly forgotten. Or so TenTen and Shino thought. Seeing them randomly stacked in Inizuka's hand proved that they were mistaken.

They wouldn't have been that bad, the cards, that is,...except that Kiba himself had designed them. And by 'designed', it meant that the Inuzuka himself had sketched them with his very hand and terrible drawing skills.

Ignoring TenTen's and Shino's looks of horror, Kiba crouched in front of Hinata and said, "Look here, Nata."

He presented her with a card after a minute of searching for it.

On its surface, a man with a slashed headband with an over-done evil smile and money-signs for eyes stared back at her.

She remembered it meaning something along the lines of 'criminal' and 'missing nin' but she hadn't seen the flashcards in so long she couldn't be sure.

"This guy right here," Kiba tapped the man's cartoonish face and looked cautiously around, whispering conspiratorially, "is _evil_."

Hinata looked at the brunet with widened eyes.

TenTen's brow returned to its twitching, and Shino lowered his face in the high collar of his jacket, shaking his head shamefully at what his teammate was about to do.

"Ahh," Kiba grinned cheekily, unaware of everyone but Hinata. "You are finally getting what I'm trying to say here. Good, good."

He took a marker from his weapon's pouch (who knows what the hell he was doing with it in his possession) and began to draw something on the card.

Shino, TenTen, and Hinata leaned forward simultaneously in mutual intrigue.

Dark eyes intense, Kiba finished the last touches to whatever it was that he was doing, frowned a bit, added one last detail, and smiled, finally pleased with his artistic (not) work. "Now, pay _clooose_ attention," he instructed her.

Like the good girl she was, Hinata nodded in silent comply.

Pausing for the sake of dramatics, Kiba looked sidewards at her and with a '_ku-chaw!_' reversed the card so fast Hinata could have sworn she heard the air around her 'whoosh'-ed.

Silence.

Even the crickets in the distance chose that moment to shut up.

Then...

Different reactions ensued.

TenTen face-palmed; Shino's bugs buzzed dangerously loud, and little Hinata...cocked her head to the side in incomprehension.

The face of what was (according to Kiba) Stranger with a huge scowl, exaggerated eyebrows pulled down over demonic eyes, and shark-like teeth similar to those in Pointy Teeth Sensei's mouth stared back at her.

A sinister light seemed to glow on Kiba's face as he neared hers. "Do you...remember the story of the boogeyman...Hinata-chan?"

She gasped, covering her eyes with her hands.

Obviously, she did remember.

Kiba nodded somberly, lips pressed in seriousness as Hinata peered at him fearfully through her fingers. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, I really am, but this guy..." He leaned closer to whisper macabre-ly, ":is evil!"

Her lip trembled. No, no...But he had acted so nice to her...

"You have to stay away from that bastard, ya hear me?"

Bastard?

What was a bastard? She idly asked herself only to come up blank. Fire had said it earlier today...and now Kiba-kun was saying it too. Was it common knowledge? If so, she had to learned it also!

"You can't go near him, do you understand?" Kiba continued.

She batted her lashes in an attempt not to cry and sniffed.

Stranger? She had to stay away from him?

But she liked him. He was weird, but he was also nice! Didn't that count for something?

Her eyes seemed to beg the brunet to say otherwise but Kiba simply closed his own as if her question pained him and shook his head firmly in denial and dreadful confirmation.

"I'm sorry, Hina –" he started to apologize again but before he could finish, a set of knives flew his way, courtesy of TenTen, who had had more than enough of his stupidity.

"Idiot! What do you think you are teaching poor Hinata-chan over here! Look at her face, she's about to cry!" she exclaimed.

Successfully avoiding the kunais that had wanted to viciously impale him into the nearest tree, Kiba stood up and brushed himself off of any dirt. "She has to know what kind of person that guy is! She's not safe around that traitor! Didn't you see what was going on in that kitchen? I bet they were fattening Hinata-chan up to eat her later. Didn't you see?!"

TenTen, her eye still dangerously twitching, turned her back on him and huffed, annoyed. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard in my entire life! Stupid Kiba, doesn't know what he's saying." Walking around the park bench, she took Hinata by the hand, and said, louder, "Don't pay attention to any word he says, Hina-chan. Kiba is bad influence for you, trying to feed you those ugly thoughts! Forget about the boogeyman or whatever the heck that is and that disastrous drawing!"

"That's not true!" Kiba shouted, running the space dividing them to stand in front of the Hyuuga. "Tell her that ain't true, Hinata! I'm one of your best friends, I have to protect you! So I can't be bad influence! And my drawing skills are great! Don't you think?" He looked at her expectantly.

"Hmph!" TenTen snorted before Hinata could so much as nod dumbly and tugged at the smaller girl's hand to make her walk. "Stop contaminating her mind, Kiba! You've done enough for today, go away now! You have people waiting for you at home. Isn't that right, Hinata?"

Hinata was at lost for what to do and her eyes darted from one of her friends to the other.

Thankfully, Shino knew when he had to step in and save her.

If a mythical being like a gallant knight in shinning armor existed, then it was Shino and his sagely decision to interrupt the two fighting tanned-skinned people trying to viciously mutilate each other with a stare-down.

"It's growing late," he murmured quietly, though his voice was carried to the rest of the party, his glasses reflecting the small amount of light coming from the setting sun. "We have to take Hinata home. Why? Because her father is waiting for her. Why? Because it's time for her to sleep. Why? Because Tsunade-sama –"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kiba cut in impatiently, waving a hand in front of Shino's face much to the young Aburame's irritation. "We all know what Hokage-sama said about Hina's sleeping cycle. She has to be in bed at eight, blah, blah, blah this, blah, blah, blah that. We get it alred – ARCK!"

TenTen and Hinata jumped at the sudden scream and saw Kiba get attacked by a wave of beetles. Seeing the direction in which they came from, they released a sigh of relief. Well, Tenten did, Hinata simply hoped her friend was alright. She knew Shino-kun would never hurt Kiba-kun but...The kikachu didn't look – or sounded – happy.

"Thank you, Shino," Tenten said with obvious gratitude.

Shino stuffed his hands on the pockets of his black trench-coat and began to walk in the Hyuuga Compound's direction, the cloud of insects holding a struggling Kiba prisoner, floating after him. "It was my pleasure," he replied.

The rest of the way to the Hinata's home was shared in peaceful and familiar silence.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

The lights illuminating the Hyuuga gardens reached her before the tall structure of the gates did.

Hinata's pace fastened, and it was her turn to drag Tenten with her.

"H-hey! Wait up, Hinata-chan! We are getting there, we are getting there!" TenTen chuckled.

Shino waved at the guards keeping watch on each of their respective tower and the wooden doors leading to the Hyuuga Main House opened.

It didn't take long to reach the front door, nor see the figure of Hyuuga Hiashi outside of it, waiting for them to return.

"Welcome home, daughter," Hiashi said, his eyes warming at the sight of Hinata, the hard lines of stress on his light-tanned face easing.

Hinata blushed happily in response, quickly letting go of TenTen's hand to run and stand in front of her Papa, her arms crossed behind her back, her posture straight and as tall as she could make it.

She looked up at him expectantly, suppressing a smile.

The Head of the Hyuuga Clan sighed with a hint of amusement.

He knew what she wanted.

Raising one of his palms, he set it over his daughter's head and ruffled her mane of thick and soft indigo hair, messing it up.

Hinata squealed in delight and beamed at him, her lavender eyes twinkling with adoration.

It wasn't the gentle and timid smile he had grown accustomed to see from afar before the war, nor the shy glances he knew she stole at him during meals four years ago, but he would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't like this side of his daughter.

She was care-free, something he had killed in her as a child and had regretted as he held her limp hand in her private hospital room. Watching one's child struggle with each breath and not opening her eyes for so long changed even the coldest of hearts.

Now, there was no fearful looks, or casted-down eyes. Hinata had grown to love her father, and it showed.

A part of Hiashi knew he didn't deserve those feelings of affection. He wasn't worthy of them, but it was a relief to him at the same time to know that there was no rancor or hurt directed at him in those inherited eyes of hers.

"Did you have a good day today?" he asked her, like it was custom.

Her face lit up and she nodded fervently, a smile that showed all of her white teeth breaking to the surface.

"Hmph," Hiashi muttered. "Did you enjoy, by any chance, your little escape?"

Hinata's face froze in an expression of 'oops' and her blush intensified to that of embarrassment.

"I see," he said, letting go of the matter easily, if just this once. "If you wanted to go out, you could have let Ko know; he would have taken you to town."

Hinata bit her lip, feeling thoroughly ashamed. A reassuring pat and a slight smile from her Papa, however, made her smile again.

Hiashi turned his gaze to the awaiting shinobi a few yards behind Hinata and gave them a polite nod of acknowledgment. "Where was she?"

Kiba, now free, stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, but TenTen was faster and calmly said, "She was in the hospital helping Shizune-san with the newborns. Hinata-chan has taken a liking to babies," she added helpfully, not that she needed to. In the first month of physical therapy, Hinata had learned to walk all around the hospital grounds, and had memorized her way around in less than a week. Days later after Ino had left her alone for a moment, she had disappeared and been found in the motherhood wing, mesmerized by the tiny bulks of babies sleeping in their plastic cribs.

It didn't surprise anyone in the Rookie Nine or the two members of Team Gai. Hinata, after all, had been notorious for her motherly nature with kids before leaving for war and entering in coma.

"I see," Hiashi said again. "Thank you for bringing her home."

Shino was the one who answered him. "It was nothing, Hyuuga-sama. We were glad to be of help. But I believe it's time for Hinata-chan to go to bed."

"So it is," he agreed.

"She already ate!" TenTen added out of nowhere. Both men looked at her, a bit taken aback by her outburst. "It was a light dinner, all she needs is a shower and off to bed she'll be!"

Still eying at her oddly, Hiashi half-turned. "...Good. Bid them good night and farewell, Hinata."

Hinata did as she was told and waved at her friends.

Shino nodded at her, Tenten smiled and waved back, and Kiba pouted, looking down at his teaching-cards.

So much for knowledge. People just didn't appreciate him anymore.

"Good night," Hiashi said out-loud for both of them and – turning his back completely on the three Konoha ninja – entered the Hyuuga house with Hinata following behind.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Sleep just wouldn't come.

A pale hand ran through ink-colored hair and Sasuke shifted in his bed, restless.

Tch-ing in irritation, he sat up on his futon and rubbed weary eyes.

The amount of silvery light coming from the moon outside made the room look mysterious and fragile, but Sasuke was feeling too uneasy to enjoy the view.

Getting up, he exited his room, shutting the screen-door quietly after him. It just wouldn't do if Karin, Juugo, or Suigetsu, who had decided to stay the night, awoke to see him sneaking out of his own house.

Descending the stairs mutely, Sasuke bypassed his old Team and tried not to shake his head as he took notice of their postures.

Juugo laid close to the large windowpane sited at the far side of the living room with Karin curled up to his back, the red-haired woman unconsciously searching for the closest body of warmth.

Suigetsu, on the other hand, seemed to be sprawled all over the floor, mouth agape, drool falling from the corner of his lips, limbs everywhere and occupying more space than necessary.

Sasuke had the sense of kicking him on the ribs on his way out but decided against it.

Retrieving his shoes, he exited the house and was soon out of the Uchiha District, his mind focused on one single thing; train.

It was mind-numbing and would eventually wear him out.

It was what he needed.

His black orbs looked up at the North Star and he sighed quietly, knowing it would be a long night.

It took a lot of effort for his stamina to decrease. Morning would probably reach him before he knocked himself out but he found that he didn't mind as much he initially thought.

His earlier trip to his training grounds had been stopped by that small Hyuuga woman. It was only reasonable for his body to feel so agitated.

As if said body remembered what the Hyuuga had done to it, the place where her lips had touched him that afternoon heated up as if someone had pressed burning coals to his skin.

"Hn."

It was better if he ignored it.

But it was difficult. He had frozen on the spot like a fool!

It wasn't the first time a girl had kissed him. As a young boy, many had taken advantage of his obliviousness to kiss him anywhere they were lucky enough to touch (Sasuke suppressed a shiver at the unpleasant memories), and he was a ninja, just how the hell had his body managed to betray him?

It was stupid, he decided. It was not something he should concern himself with.

It just didn't matter. The girl was now gone. They had never crossed – or spoke – to each other in his twenty-years of life. What were the odds of them meeting again?

Sasuke scoffed.

None. There were none.

But Fate liked to mock. And everyone knew that its twisted ways had always found their roots in the Uchiha Clan.

And Sasuke was no exception because when he entered his personal woods, a familiar-looking plastic bag filled with herbs and labeled with a name he hadn't cared to read once upon a time, shone like a beacon with the help of the full moon in-between dark bushes, where a certain little woman had forgotten it that very morning.

And written in neat handwritten, the name he had believed never to encounter again.

_Hyuuga Hinata._

.

.

.

Yes. Fate liked to play sick jokes on him, alright.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

A figure silently dropped from her window, coiling with the shadows on the walls and blending in them with ease.

The form of a nineteen-year-old Hyuuga woman with long indigo-hair dressed in her white yukata inhaled sharply in her sleep, as if aware of blue eyes, bright as a pair of azure diamonds, watching her while shinning in the black darkness invading her room.

Uzumaki Naruto observed her quietly for a moment before walking to stand beside her bed, taking in her tiny body comfortably cocooned in lavender-tinted sheets.

One of his hands unconsciously breezed over her cheeks before he cautiously started to caress them in untold patterns.

He ached to touch her, to _truly_ feel her, and know that she was willing to touch him in return.

But that was impossible, and he knew it.

The tables had reversed. Now it was her who wanted nothing to do with him.

And he hated it.

He hated knowing that she couldn't see him without whimpering in fear.

It pained him to the point of not being able to breathe properly. The ache in his chest prevented any oxygen from rushing to his lungs.

It was hard to believe his position. It was _unthinkable_ for him to grasp that this woman, Hinata, had forgotten him.

It felt _wrong_. This wasn't what he thought would happen once she abandoned her long slumber.

No, this wasn't it at all, he thought, eyes dimmed as memories of her frightened face flashed through his mind.

The only way to get close to her without startling her was for her to not know of his presence.

So he had no option but to come in the dead of night, when most people slept, and see her. He wouldn't call these events visits, because the word wasn't fit to describe the scenario he found himself into.

He picked one of her limp hands and brought it to his face, pressing it to his whiskered cheek as much as he could without disturbing her. The warmth she emitted made him sigh with pleasure and not want to give it up ever again.

But once again, he knew better.

His time with her was counted, kept in timed periods.

He looked at the watch tied to his hand and exhaled.

He had a minute.

Sixty seconds before Hyuuga Hiashi came to ask him to leave.

He was grateful to the old man, he would never dare to say otherwise, but he couldn't help but resent him for giving him these dumb schedules.

Couldn't he stay with her a little bit longer?

As much as he disliked it, though, he understood.

The old man had grown too fond of his daughter, and was now protecting her the way he hadn't before; Naruto was glad for that, but he hoped one day for Hiashi to let him have more time.

It was all he asked.

For now, however, he would do with what he had.

Ten seconds.

_The hand holding hers to his face fell slowly, deliberately._

Seven seconds.

_A soft, melancholic sigh echoed in the room._

Four seconds.

_A feather-light kiss placed gently on her unmarked forehead and a pleading whisper._

Zero seconds.

No more time.

"_Sweet dreams, love."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

**XXXX**

**A/N:** This plan is killing me...Naruto! I'm so sorry! *sobs. Making him suffer makes ME suffer.

Can I...*sniff, sniff*. C-can I turn this into S-SasuHinaNaru? D:

NO xD I can't...sadly.

Good thing I can write different fan-fictions!'Exquisite Reality' (NaruHina AU Supernatural) will be updated soon. Some of you read it in the past and I wish to update it but...not a lot of reviews :c.

-I feel like Suigetsu and Kiba are kind of the same. Lol.

-Interaction with (some) friends, check!

-Interaction with Papa, check!

-Naruto P.O.V, check!

-Sasuhina moments...er, you will have to see what I have planned for next chapter XD I myself am already laughing with what will be occurring :3 Childish Hinata is so fun to write! *squee!

But watch out, enjoy the happy moments! Don't forget the main category is Hurt&Comfort!

-Grammatical mistakes, yup! It's late; I'm sleepy. I need energy o.o

**Thank you so much!: BlackMoonTiger, Deedeecrazy8, rainbowxpersonality, Delicatelyplaced, damnheart.o3, Narutoimahine01, Ro0w'z, Kia-B, Kibachow, PuppetPrince, Guest #1 and #2, XxJasmineReyxX, aurora0914, remiedy, xXYour DoomXx, umnia, Maggies, kichisaburo, heyla, Delicate Plume, YukiTenVianey Team, champylin, Starcakes, Aluminesa, reikotsu, Chew it Over With Twix, & SabakunoAnjel! **

I hope you guys liked this :D And keep reviewing! I breathe reviews like I do oxygen! Pretty please! Plus, ya know you wanna since the more reviews equals motivation which equals faster updates!

-4.14.14


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